Railway gate and signal.



Pat'enied Oct.. 8, |901. l A. M. RICHARDSDN. Y

RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL.

(Application led Nov. 23, 1900.)

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(im model.)

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A. M. RICHARDSON. RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL.

(Application led Nov. Q3, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Shest 2.

(No Model.)

what SE? ,L Aflomeyf --Patented Oct. 8, |90fl;

A. M. RICHARDSON. RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL (Application med Nov. 2s,1900.1

4 sheets-sunset a.

(No Model.)

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No. 683,986. Patented oet. a, lsol.'

A. M. RICHARDSON. RAILWAY GATE AN!) SIGNAL. (Application filed Nov. 23,1900.)

(No Mndelv.)

WHA/55555.-

i Nrrnio STATES 'PATENT Erica AUGUSTUS M. RICHARDSON, OF BOYNTON,GEORGIA.

RAILWAY GATE AND SIGNAL..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,986, dated October8, 1901; Application tiled November 23, 1900. Serial No. L57', 5l8 I (Noinodel'.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, AUGUSTUS M. RICHARD- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Boynton, in the county ot' Catoosa and State ofGeorgia, have invented a new and useful Railway Gate and Signal, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic railwaysignals, and has for its objectto produce a device of this kind which can be located upon one or both sides of a railroad-track at the crossing or intersection therewith of ahighf way, as` streets or roads, and which will automatically lower asignal across the highway, which Will also act as a gate or bar to thepassage of a person or team upon the track immediately before or duringthe passage of a train, and which will be automatically removed as soonas the train has passed.

With this object in View my invention consists in the improvedconstruction and novel arrangement of parts of a safety-signal, as willbe hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference-numeralsindicate corresponding parts in eachof the views in which they occur,Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved signal applied to bothsides of the track in the position the parts assume just before thetrain reaches the crossing. Fig. 2 is a similar view from the oppositeside of the signal-operating mechanism,show ing my invention arrangedfor one side of the road only. Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view ofthe signaloperating mechanism. Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevation ofthe cross-piece 6, the mechanism supported thereby being shown in dottedlines. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view throughthecross-piece 6 and the mechanism supported thereby. Fig. 6 is a sectionaldetail view of the clutch mechanism for permitting the gates or signalsto be returned to-their original positions. Fig. 7is a view lookingalong the track, showing the means for actuating the signal mechanism,the cab of an engine being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 8 is aperspective view showing a modification in the construction for trippingthe signal, and Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12 are detail views of variousparts of said tripping mechanism.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate twostandards, Awhich are of suitable height, and one of them, 1, is'provided with a cross-arm, upon which are mounted suitable pulleys 3.The standards or posts are located adjacent to a railroad; track 4 uponopposite sides of a highway or crossing 5 and are spaced apart at theirupper ends by means of cross-pieces 6. The cross-y pieces are arrangedat a suftlcient height-say fourteen feet-to permit the passage of anyori dinary load upon the highway. The standards may be of considerablewidth and the inner face of each provided with a groove or track 7, uponwhich a gate or barrier 8 may be moved up and down.

Journaled in the upper end of the frame formed by the standards and thecross-pieces are two shafts 9 and l0, upon one of which, 9, is looselymounted a spool 11, on which is wound a cord 12, the intermediateportion of which is passed up over the pulleys 3 at the Y top of thestandard 1 and to the free end 'of which is suspended a Weight 13. Theouter end of the axle of the spool is provided with a crank 14, by meansof which the spool isrotated for winding up the cord, and a pawl 15 issecured to the inner end of the spool in position to engage with -aratchet 16 on the shaft. A gear-wheel 17 is rigidly secured to the shaft9 at the end opposite the spool and is provided with a ilange 18, onwhich are formed stops, as perforations 19. A detent 2O is pivotallysecured at one end to the frame and has its free end bent at rightangles to engage in said perforations.

The shaft 10 is provided with' two pulleys 2l, which are rigidly securedthereto and each of them provided with a cord 22, which is secured tothe gate or barrier 8. One end of shaft 1() is provided With a clutch,one mem# ber 24 of which is mounted thereon so as to be movablelongitudinally, but prevented from independent rotation. This member hason its rear side an annular ring 24, provided about its edge with aretaining-flange 24. Movable longitudinally through the supporting-framefor the signal mechanism is a U-shaped member 24, having the legs IOOthereof secured to an annular plate 24d,which is loosely retained inconnection with clutch member 24 by the flange ,24'u of said ring 24a.An operating-rope, presently to be more fully described, is secured tosaid U-shaped member 24c and effects the longitudinalmovement of thesame and disengages clutch member 24 from a clutch member 25, which isloosely mounted upon the shaft and is provided with a bevel gear-wheel26. A'third shaft 27 is journaled in a bracket 2S and in the side of thecasing and is provided at one end with a bevel-gear 29, which mesheswith the wheel 2G, and at the opposite end with a gear-pinion 30, whichmeshes with the gearwheel 17. The end of the shaft l0 opposite theclutch mechanism is provided with adrum or pulley 31, upon which iswound a cord 32, to one end of which is attached a weight 33. The weight33 is preferably but a slight degree heavier than the weight of thegates, so that but little force is necessary to operate the gates.

Located along the side of the track upon each side of the signalingapparatus are a number of posts 34, preferably two, which are arrangedat suitable distances from each other and from the signalingapparatussay two hundred yards. Mounted upon each of the posts insuitable bearings is a vertical shaft 35, preferably provided with apulley 36 and a disk 37. `An arm 3S is secured to the shaft by means ofthe disk or in any other suitable manner and has its free end normallyextending over the track in position to be engaged by a bracket 39.` orother suitable device upon the cab of the locomotive, there being twobrackets upon the locomotive for the purpose of engaging with said armswith the locomotive traveling in either direction. A wire or connector40is secured to the upper pulleys upon each side of the signalingapparatus, and the inner end 43 of each of said wires passes over theroller 4l, which is journaled in a suitable bracket 42 in front of thesignalingapparatus, and up over a pulley 44, journaled above the top ofthe front cross-piece 6., and extends down within the frame, and issecured in any desired manner to the detent 20. Any suitable meansas,for instance, a coil-spring 45-may be connected with each of the shafts35 for returning said shafts to their normal position after they havebeen rotated by the engagement with the free end of the arm 38 by thebracket upon the locomotive. If desired, a track 46 or means forsupporting the Wire 40 between the posts and the signaling apparatus maybe stretched from the tops of the posts to the standards.

Jou rnaled in bearings upon one of the standards is a vertical shaft 47,the lower end of which is provided with an arm 4S, which normallyextends out over the track in position to be actuated by the bracketupon the cab, and the upper end is provided with two cords 49, which arewrapped around a pulley 50 in opposite directions. The opposite ends ofsaid cords pass over a pulley 5l, adjacent to the clutch, and areconnected with the clutch member 24, so that when the arm 48 is swungesaeee in either direction said clutch member will be drawn out ofengagement with the member 25, which will release the shaft l0 andpermit the weight 33 to descend, and thereby raise the gates or barriersS.

When it is desired to place a gate or bar'- rier upon each side of arailroad-track, two additional standards 52 are arranged upon theopposite side of the track and connected with the first-mentionedstandards by means of cross-pieces 53, which are arranged at such aheight as to permit the passage of the ordinary train. A barrier or gate54 is arranged to slide in a suitable track 55 in the same manner asheretofore described for the gate or barrierS. Two cords 56 extend fromsaid gate or barrier up over pulleys 57 and 23 and are connected attheir opposite ends to the pulleys 21 upon the shaft l0, or additionalpulleys may be provided therefor. The gates or barriers may be providedwith any suitable notice, as Train approaching, keep off the track, togive notice to any one approaching the railroad-track from eitherdirection. The cross-piece 58 at the upper ends of the standards 52, asalso the cross-piece 6 upon the standards l and 2, is of sufficientwidth to entirely cover the gates or barriers when they are attheirupper limit, and thereby indieate that the track is clear or thatthe train is not within a specified distance of the crossing, theoutermost post being located at a suilicient distance from the crossingto permit of a passage being made across the track at any time beforethe gate or barrier is lowered.

In using my improved signal apparatus it is erected at the crossing andthe posts secured along the side of the track in any desired manner. Theweight l3 is raised to its extreme limit by means of the crank upon theend of the cord-spool and held in that position ready for use. Upon theapproach of a train from either direction the bracket upon thelocomotive engages with the first arm and rotates its shaft, whereby thewire or cord connected therewith is moved longitudinally,- so as torotate one of the rollers at the signal apparatus and release the detentfrom the flange upon the main gear-wheel. This will canse the main wheelto rotate the pinion and with it the bevel gear-wheel, which meshes withthe gear-wheel upon the shaft controlling the gates or barriers, andthereby causing said shaft to rotate in such manner as to unwind thecords supporting the gates or barriers and to wind up the small weightsuspended from the pulley at the end of the shaft. This rotation willcontinue until the main Wheel is stopped by the engagement therewith ofthe detent, which is preferably so arranged as to permit of a descent ofthe gates by gravity for every movement-#say five or six feet, as thecase may be. As soon as the train reaches the second post from the' end,as there may be as many posts arranged along the track and at suchdistances apart esaeee as may be desired, its vertical shaft is rotatedby the engagement of its arm by the bracket of the cab and the detent isagain Withdrawn from the flange of the main wheel and the gates orbarriers are caused to make a second descent, preferably tive or sixfeet, the same as before. By the time the locomotive has reached a pointabout two hundred yards from the crossing the gates or barriers Willhavebeen lowered to their extreme limit, preferably about four feet from theground, which Will prevent access being had to the track by a team. Whenthe locomotive reaches the crossing, the bracket upon its cab willengage With the arm of the shaft journaled in one of the standards andwill rotate it sufficiently to cause one or the other of the cords atits upper end to engage with the longitudinally-movable clutch member onthe shaft and disconnect it from the loose member. As soon as the clutchis disconnected the small Weight upon the opposite end of the shaft Willimmediately rotate the shaft and the pulleys thereon, so as to wind upthe cords, and by the time the train has passed raise up the gates orbarriers behind the cross-pieces, and thus indicate that the track isclear. The cords along the sides of the track are so connected with thevertical shaft.

from either side Will release the clutch mech- 'anism and permit of theraising of the gates or barriers.

Instead of providing a tripping mechanism to be operated by a bracketsecured upon the cab of the locomotive said mechanism may be soconstructed and arranged as to be operated by the wheels of thelocomotive. To effect this, instead of the tall nprights 34 a series ofshort posts 58 are provided, and mounted-at one end in said posts and attheir opposite ends in suitable supports 5.9,f1xed upon the ties, areshafts 60, provided intermediate their ends with cranks 6l, to which anoperating wire or cable 62 is connected, said cable running parallelwith the track. The shafts have their outer ends turned upwardly to formarms 63, which are engaged by the Wheels of the locomotive to effect therocking of the shafts. The inner ends of said shafts are alsoprovided'with arms 64, which at their upper ends extend between thebifurcations of a spring-arm 65, secured at its upper end to each postJ58. This springarm serves to return the shafts to their normal positionswhen rotated in either direction. Adjacent to the gate short posts 66are positioned, upon each of which a bell-crank lever 67 is mounted. Toone arm of these levers the inner ends of the operating-cable 62 aresecured. To the opposite arms an up- Wardly-extending cable or rod 68 isconnected, the opposite end of said rod or Wire being connected with onearm of a bell-crank lever 69, mounted upon the upper portions ofstandards l and 2. To the other arms of said bell-crank levers 69 cables70 are attached, said cables at their inner ends being attached to thepulleys 41. A shaft `7l is mounted at its inner end in one of the posts66, said shaft being formed at its outer end with an arm 72, which isengaged by the wheel of the locomotive and operated to eect the rotationof the shaft. Said shaft is formed with a crank 73 intermediately of itsends,` and to this crank an upwardly-extending rod 74: is attached, saidrod being connected at one end With the crank of theshaft and at itsopposite end with one arm of a bell-crank lever 7 5, pivotally mountedupon one of the standards. A bell-crank lever 76 is pivotally mountedupon the oppositestandard or upright, and connecting these two bellcranklevers is a rod or cable 77. Pivotally mounted adjacent to the rear endof the U'- shaped member 24C of the clutch is a bellcrank lever 78,which has one of its arms connected with said member, so as toeffect thelongitudinal movement thereof, and its other` arm connected with one ofthe arms of bell-crank lever 7 G by a rod 79. The abovedescribedmechanism effects the tripping of the mechanism by the action of thecar- Wheels, as will be readily understood.

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- As above described, it will be seen that by means of my improvedsignaling apparatus notice of the approach of a train is automat-.ically given without the necessity of the'care or attention of anyperson except an occa- IIO sional winding of the spool by means of thecrank, which can be readily attended to by an assistant whose presencewill only be required at certain intervals after the passage of acertain number 'of trains.

Although I have shown what I consider the most desirable form ofconstructing myimproved signaling apparatus, yet it is evident thatchanges and alterations can be made therein, and I reserve the right tomake such changes and alterations as will come within the scope of myinvention. A

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Ina railway-gate, the combination with a shaft, of a gravity-gate,ropes connected with said gate and adapted to be Wound upon the shaft,adetent normally holding said shaft adapted to successively operate thesame to permit theshaft to rotate suiiciently at each tripping thereofto permit the gate to accomplish a part of its downward movement,substantially as described.

Y 2. In a railway-gate, the combination with a shaft, of a gravity-gate,ropes connected with said gate and adapted to be wound upon the shaft, aplurality of stops for stopping the rotation of the shaft with the gateat dilferent points in its downward movement, a detent for engaging saidstops, and a tripping mechanism disposed along the track in position tobe engaged by the train and having an operative connection with saiddetent for successively operating the same to disengage the stops,substantially as described.

3. In a railway-gate, the combination, with a frame, of aweight-actuated shaft journaled therein provided with a clutch mechanismat one end and pulleys upon its intermediate portion, operatingmechanism detachably connected with said clutch mechanism for rotatingthe shaft in one direction and raising the weight, a series of shaftsarranged along the side of the track, each of which is provided with anarm normally extending above the track, one of said arms being connectedwith the clutch mechanism so as to release the clutch when rotated ineither direction, and the other shafts being connected with theoperating mechanism so as to permit of its operation when said shaftsare rotated in one direction only, substantially as described.

4. In a railway-gate, the combination, with a frame, of a shaftjournaled therein provided with clutch mechanism, two pulleys, and aweight, movable gates connected with said pulleys, a shaft journaled insaid frame at right angles to the rst-mentioned shaft, mechanism forconnecting said shaft with the rotatable member of the clutch, means forrotating said second-mentioned shaft in one direction, a detent forpreventing said rotation, tripping devices along the track upon oppositesides of said frame, means for operating the clutch mechanism by one ofsaid tripping devices, and means for connecting the detent with theother devices, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-gate, the combination, with a frame, of two shaftsjournaled therein, each of which is provided with a weight for rotatingit in one direction, and one of them with two pulleysfand a clutchmechanism, movable gates connected with said pulleys, bevelgearsconnected with the loose member of said clutch, a gear wheel and pinionfor operating said bevel gear-wheels, a detent :for preventing therotation of the shaft provided with the gear-wheel, tripping devices atthe side of the track, one of which is connected with the clutchmechanism and the @tagte others are connected with the detent,substantially as described.

6. In a railway-gate, the combination, with a frame, of two shaftsjournaled therein, each of which is provided with a weight and one ofthem with two pulleys and a clutch mechanism, movable gates connectedwith said pulleys, bevel-gear connected with the loose member of theclutch, agear wheel and pinion for operating the bevel-gear, thegear-wheel being provided with stops, a detent for engaging with saidstops, a pulley and two rollers connected with the frame, cordsconnected with the detent at one end and with the rollers at the otherand having their intermediate portions passed over the pulley, trippingdevices along the track, one of which is connected with the clutchmechanism and the others are connected with the rollers, substantiallyas described.

7. In a railway-gate, the combination, with a frame, of two shaftsjournaled therein, one of which is provided with a cln tch mechanism,two pulleys and a weight, and the other one with a spool-alxd-ratchetmechanism, a weight connected with said spool, means for winding up saidweight, a train of gearing between one of said shafts and the loosemember of the clutch mechanism, the main wheel of which is provided witha pluralityofstops,a detentin position for engaging with said stops andstopping its rotation, a cord connected with said detent, trippingdevices, along the track, one of which is connected with the clutchmechanism and the others are adapted to operate said cord and detent,substantially as described.

8. In a railway-gate, the combination, with standards, each of which isprovided with a vertical track and one of them is higher than the other,cross-pieces upon said standards, forming therewith a frame, shaftsjournaled in said frame, means for winding cords upon said shafts,clutch mechanism upon one of said shafts, means for detachablyconnecting the other shaft therewith, vertically-movable gates in thetracks of the standards, con nected with two of the cords upon one ofsaid shafts, a weight upon each of the other cords, one of said cordspassing over pulleys at the top of the higher standard, means formantlally winding up the cord overthe top of said higher standard,releasing me'chanism for permitting of the unwinding of said cord, andtripping devices along the track, one of which is connected with theclutch mechanism, and means for connecting the remaining devices withsaid releasing mechanism, substantially as described.

AUGUSTUS M. RICHARDSON.

Witnesses:

SAM P. 'MADDoX, W. M. J oNEs.

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